Christmas Engagements
by iwrite4fun
Summary: Sam, Jack, and friends celebrate Christmas... a couple of times. Two part story. Part one originally chapter 14 in "Ways Sam and Jack get Engaged" Chapter 2 is brand new! Sam/Jack
1. Chapter 1

AN: This is a Secret Santa Request from achairsomewhere: no smut or anything like that but a good fic would be nice :) um...sam/jack of course, some team - post jack being a general so team could mean old or new (or both which is probably preferable), romance but not clichéd or slash and in character. and some off world actionI've been writing a series of stories all involving the different ways Sam and Jack get engaged.

AN2: After I read this assignment, I started two other stories which I thought would fit the prompt and then the idea for this one hit me- and I thought "This is the best one of the bunch!" Hope you enjoy and that it isn't too clichéd or too lacking in action. If it is… well sorry but there's no "no cliché/lots of action or a new story guarantee" =) Now on with the story!

**AN: Apologies to those of you who read this as part of my "Way Sam and Jack get Engaged Series" there is actually a second chapter which will be up shortly as a sequel, which prompted me to post this as a separate story! Happy reading!**

Jack O'Neill sat in his office, wondering if once again someone was out to get him. He had made plans to spend Christmas with Sam and well, everyone, but it seemed the Asgard had a different idea. So instead SG-1 and Landry were quickly speeding across the galaxy towards the Asgard homeworld.

He hadn't had much time to prepare for their departure, so he had been forced to make a quick decision- one that he was now not really regretting, but definitely doubting.

Jack had decided to send Sam's Christmas present, really all of SG-1's presents, with them by personally making sure that the carefully packaged and wrapped box was beamed aboard the Odyssey prior to their departure.

He could vaguely remember being nervous when had asked Sara to marry him, but right now, he was terrified, and rightly so. He had to wait only a few minutes to hear Sara's "Yes" but it was going to be months before he heard from Sam again.

Briefly, he wondered what Sam had gotten him for Christmas that he still had to go to Colorado to retrieve, but put it out of his mind. He had paperwork to do and budget requests to sign, or else he would never get out of here tonight!

o

Vala looked longingly at the box in the corner of the room which Daniel had claimed for his own personal lab. She just knew it contained a present for her. After all General O'Neill had said he liked her, right?

Not even looking up, Daniel said, "Don't even think about it."

"Daniel! Come on- General O'Neill sent those presents last year! I don't understand why we can't open them now!" Vala complained.

Daniel sighed, giving up his attempt at work. He already knew that he could spend a lifetime and not learn everything the Asgard left behind. "Jack sent that box to Sam, and if she says we can't open it until Christmas, we aren't opening it until Christmas."

'Time for a change in tactics,' Vala decided. "What do you think it is?"

"What do you think what is?" Cam asked for the doorway of the lab, Teal'c right behind him.

"The box from General O'Neill," Vala explained, pointing to the corner of the room where Teal'c had put the box.

Teal'c had located the large box two weeks ago during his continued work of inventorying the ship. He had taken it to Sam immediately.

She had opened it to find several wrapped presents. After great thought, she had decided they should wait until Christmas to open it. After all, the instructions on the boxes specifically said "Wait until Christmas to Open".

Cam shrugged his shoulders. "I just hope it isn't something that was alive- because I don't think it will be anymore!"

oo

Jack stepped into Sam's house, still confused as to why he was here. It wasn't like Sam was going to be able to make the trip home and surprise him. If he was lucky, she'd be back and they'd be together for Valentine's Day.

He flipped on the lights, taking note of the decorated tree in the living room with only one present under it. Unable to resist, Jack picked up the present, and noticed it was addressed to him.

The box was wrapped carefully in Simpson's paper- and was quite light. Even though it was still a couple days until Christmas, Jack tore into the box, opening it to reveal an envelope on the inside- it wasn't like Sam was there to chide him about being unable to wait!

He quickly opened the envelope, wondering what kind of message Sam could have left him.

_Jack-_

_If you're reading this, then I guess I'm not here for Christmas because I wasn't there to stop you from opening this present early!_

Jack smiled. Only Sam would know him well enough to know that he couldn't wait to open his Christmas present.

_But I guess since you couldn't wait, I'll have to make you work to get your present. Call the number below and ask if your present is ready. I hope you like it._

_Love always,_

_Sam_

Unable to wait, Jack pulled out his cell phone to make the call.

ooo

Sam stared at the box.

It was Christmas morning on the Odyssey. With great care, Sam began to pull the wrapping paper from the box. The wrapping was too neat for Jack to have done the job himself, but she still wanted to take her time enjoying the present. It would be the only one she would get from Jack for who knows how long.

oooo

The phone call had been rather mysterious and had left Jack with more questions than answers. But Sam had left him instructions, and Jack was going to follow them.

Which was why he had driven almost an hour to this rather remote location.

He got out and then he realized that he could hear noise coming from the back of the house.

With a sudden spring to his step and a smile on his face, he walked to the front door and rang the bell.

ooooo

Now Sam was confused. As far as she could tell the only thing the box contained was packing peanuts. Why in the world would Jack send her a box full of packing peanuts?

She started digging through them, like a kid in a sandbox, and eventually her hand hit something hard, that wasn't a packing peanut. She dug a little bit more until she could see it.

She gasped in surprise as she looked at the box she had uncovered, hardly bigger than a few of the packing peanuts put together.

Tears welled up in her eyes and in that moment she rededicated herself to finding a way off of this ship.

She carefully put the box containing the box off to the side, unable to do anything else with her Christmas present right now. Instead, she headed to her lab; Sam had a problem to solve so she could go home and have Jack slip that ring on her finger himself.

oooooo

Jack was sitting on the floor, being swarmed by puppies. His casual mention that someday he would retire and get a dog was all he had ever given Sam. Yet somehow she had known he would want a lab.

A yellow lab too, if the woman who owned the puppies could be believed! She said that Sam had been to visit shortly after the puppies were born and had instantly reserved the only yellow lab in the litter for him.

The little guy was friendly, licking at Jack's fingers as he tried to pet the puppy.

A puppy was the perfect Christmas present.

Now if only Sam was there, and it would be the perfect Christmas.

ooooooo

Samantha Carter could never bring herself to wear the ring. She slipped it on the chain, next to her dog tags, because wearing it on her finger would forever be a reminder of how she was continuously failing in her attempts to get her and her teammates home.

For the past fifty years she never told anyone about the ring that hung on her dog tags. She had lied years ago and told them that the box had contained some of her favorite foods- chocolate bars and blue jell-o.

Even now as she prepared to reverse the time dilation, she did nothing more than offer a fleeting touch to the ring that hung around a neck, offering an 'I love you Jack' to the stars as she pushed the button that would hopefully send her back to him.

oooooooo

Even with the new Asgard technology, it was still going to take too long for them to get home, which was why Jack called in a favor to go out and meet them.

A few seconds by Stargate and Jack was to be beamed aboard, directly to the bridge of the Odyssey.

Or at least that was what the plan was… but considering he was an (honorary) member of SG-1 and things were never went as planned for them, it didn't go that way.

Instead of beaming to the bridge, he found himself in Sam's quarters.

Looking right at her.

"Ya know, for some reason I don't think I was supposed to end up here," Jack stated in a casual manner, like he had just dropped by for pizza and a movie.

"Ooops!" Sam said halfheartedly, even though she had obviously done some hacking to reprogram the computer and beam him here rather then to the bridge.

Jack smiled, slinging his P-90 behind him so that he could pull Sam into his arms and hug her. They separated and Jack tried discretely checking her hand and dog tags for a ring, but found none- and got caught.

"Jack, what are you looking for?"

"Nothing," Jack said, a little bit too gruffly, before softening his words with a smile.

Deciding a change of topics was in order, Sam asked, "So what did you think of your Christmas present?"

"He's… perfect. Likes to hog the bed though," Jack admitted.

"What did you name him?"

"Ralph."

"Ralph?"

"He didn't look like a Thor," Jack claimed, like that explained everything.

Sam couldn't help herself as she giggled.

The moment ended though as Jack was paged to the bridge and Sam to the lab.

ooooooooo

It took almost a day for Jack and Sam to find some 'alone time' and for Jack to ask the question that had been bothering him since his arrival.

"How come you're not wearing your engagement ring?"

"Engagement ring?" Sam squeaked, reaching a pitch that Jack didn't even realize that she could.

"Yeah, you know, the thing you wear on your finger, shows everyone that you're engaged to a man, that you want to get married… that kind of engagement ring," Jack explained.

"What engagement ring?"

"The one I got you for Christmas," Jack explained, like he was talking to a small child.

"I didn't get a ring for Christmas."

"You didn't?"

"I didn't."

"I sent one."

"I didn't get it."

"Obviously!"

"What does that mean?"

"It means that now I understand why you weren't wearing the ring."

"What makes you think I would want to marry you?" Sam demanded.

Jack stood there at a loss for words. He had never expected that sort of a response from Sam. They had broached the topic of marriage before and usually it ended with them using the vaguest terms like 'someday'.

"Sam?" Jack whispered, feeling his heart start to break.

Realizing what she had said, and how it had sounded, Sam explained her words. "I wanted you to ask- not just send me a ring."

"Marry me?" Jack quickly asked.

Sam raised an eyebrow. "Usually when a man asks that, he comes with a ring in hand," Sam reminded him.

"I have a ring!" Jack protested. "It's here, just not right here, right now."

Sam smiled at his obvious fluster. "Find the ring Jack, and then ask," she suggested, heading for the door.

"And then?"

"And then… we'll see," Sam assured him with a 10,000 watt smile.

oooooooooo

Sam's words, of course sent Jack on a hunt for the missing box. It took quite a bit of doing, but he did finally find it, tucked away in a storage room, sitting on a shelf that was even out of his reach.

"General O'Neill to the bridge. General O'Neill to the bridge." The communications officer called over the ship's intercom system, startling Jack who had been precariously balanced on a rather unsteady stool he had found in the corner.

He was pretty sure he did a rather good impression of a windmill before loosing his balance. The last thing he remembered was the strange look he got of the ceiling as he fell.

ooooooooooo

"And he says I get into trouble off-world?" Daniel asked from where they were all gathered in the infirmary. "At least I've never been taken out by a storage room and a stool!"

Laughter ensued at the truth of that comment.

"I believe O'Neill fell from a stool Daniel Jackson and his cranium collided with the floor," Teal'c corrected.

"But what was he doing standing on a stool in the first place Muscles?" Vala asked.

"Searching for a box," Jack grunted from his position, lying in the bed.

All eyes turned to him, even though Jack only had eyes for Sam, and in return Sam only had eyes for him.

"Don't you have people to do that for you General?" Vala asked and received an elbow in her side for the comment. "What? He's a General! You don't do work like that when you have people to do that for you!"

"Why were you looking for a box?" Daniel asked curiously even as he received an elbow to the ribs from Vala to match the one he had given her.

"I was looking for a box," Jack explained. "It has your Christmas presents in it."

""Presents?" Vala asked excitedly. She had been stuck on this ship for so long now that she was about to lose her mind. Any shift from what had become the daily grind would be great. One could only have so many 'birthday' parties before the crew started to ignore her insistence that they celebrate- again.

"Yes presents," Jack confirmed.

"Shall I retrieve them O'Neill?"

"Yeah, that'd be great Teal'c. They're in a box-"

"I may have aged, but I still recall where the box is," Teal'c cut Jack off as he went for the door.

"I think you meant 'I'm old, but I haven't forgotten' Teal'c," Jack called after his friend.

One word floated back to them as they waited for Teal'c to return.

"Indeed."

Which of course, sent them all into fits of laughter as they waited for the arrival of their Christmas presents.

Jack managed to amuse them all with stories, and even a picture of his beloved new puppy Ralph until Teal'c returned. The large Jaffa donned a Santa hat and proceeded to pass out the presents, one at a time and they watched each other open them.

It didn't matter that it was now February, this was Christmas to them.

Daniel opened his first to reveal a book. "This is a shock Jack," Daniel said sarcastically as he flipped through the first few pages of the book.

"That's me, Mr. Unexpected," Jack returned with a smirk. He had gotten Daniel a different book every year for Christmas as long as he had known him.

Vala went next, ripping into her present with the kind of impatient joy that usually belonged to a child. Of course it was just a box with an envelope containing a gift card to one of her favorite stores. "I won't even need to borrow your credit next time Daniel," she said quite happily, leaning around several people to give Jack a hug.

Teal'c's gift revealed a gift card to his favorite hat shop.

"I didn't want to pick one out for you Teal'c," Jack explained.

Mitchell was quite surprised when Teal'c offered him a present from Jack, and even more surprised to find a couple of tickets to a baseball game. Of course, he thanked Jack profusely for the gift.

That left Sam with the largest of the boxes. She took quite a bit of time opening the box, prompting threats of assistance from several in the room.

A full blown smile threatened to shine through as she opened the box to reveal packing peanuts and proceeded to dump them all on to Jack who was sitting up in his infirmary bed.

"Hey!" Jack protested, surprised that Sam would do something like that.

Sam giggled while the civilians laughed at Sam's actions and Mitchell looked on with interest.

"No giggling Colonel," he ordered as he began searching the mess on his bed for the box he knew had to be there.

"Interesting choice of gifts, Jack," Daniel commented, wondering exactly what his friend had been thinking giving his… girlfriend for lack of a better word, a box of packing peanuts for Christmas.

Sam stopped giggling when a ring box was unceremoniously shoved in her face.

"Will you marry me now?" Jack asked impatiently.

Sam smiled, nodding as she permitted Jack to slip the ring on her finger. They shared a short kiss, somewhat of an irregularity considering where they were.

Amid the congratulations from their friends, Sam took the time to make one thing very clear.

"There is one condition to all of this," she began.

"What?" Jack asked worriedly, wondering what kind of condition Sam was about to name.

"I get to name all the kids."


	2. Chapter 2

Sequel to Christmas Engagements

AN: The reason for this story is the push I got from several comments over at my LJ which sparked the idea for this story, causing me to drop everything else and write this.

The past year had passed in a complete and total blur.

Sam had spent most of it in Atlantis, while Jack had been forced to continue at his position in Washington D.C.

They had somehow managed a rather quick (and small) wedding thrown together when they realized it was either now or some undetermined date in the who-knows-how-long future. The honeymoon had been pretty much non-existent.

But it had been worth it.

The distance had given Jack the chance to concentrate fully on his job, tying up the various loose ends so that he could retire as soon as Sam was ready to come home.

Things didn't quite go as planned.

Sam found herself a victim of her own success as the IOA decided to replace before Jack had all his ducks in a row for a quiet retirement.

This had meant many weekends of back and forth between D.C. and Colorado Springs for the couple, but it had also made the news that Sam delivered during the Thanksgiving weekend all that more special.

//Flashback//

Ralph (Sam hadn't been able to convince Jack to change the name) was outside and happily gnawing on the turkey carcass, though he had to compete with his new housemate, a light orange cat named Lisa, for the best pieces.

The dishes were in the dishwasher, and the leftovers were in the refrigerator, already in containers for everyone to take home. In fact, one could hardly tell that there had been chaos in the kitchen mere hours before.

Somehow everyone managed to drag their overly stuffed bodies to the living room and collapse in preparation for an afternoon of football watching.

Jack carried two beers into the living room, noticing that everyone had managed to find seats but had smartly left the spot on the couch next to Sam open. Teal'c had laid dibs to the rather comfy rocking chair. Vala and Daniel were rather comfortably piled together in the arm chair whereas Mitchell and Carolyn had taken over the loveseat.

"Here," Jack said offering the beer to Sam.

Sam stuck out and a hand to take it, and then quickly retracted it as she changed her mind. "No thanks, I'd better not," she claimed.

"Come on Sam, it's just a beer," Cam joked which only earned him an elbow to the ribs from his wife. "You didn't even have any wine with lunch."

The game was forgotten as all eyes turned to Sam, who was currently squirming in her seat under all the attention.

"I'll pass," Sam said again.

Jack shrugged, holding up the beer to see if anyone else was going to take it off his hands.

The beer gone, Jack sat down to snuggle with Sam, the incident quickly forgotten until the next day, when Jack's to-do list read 'Clean out spare room'. The spare room was their hold-all for things they didn't use, want, or need, meaning that it was just a storage area.

It seemed that even Lieutenant Generals couldn't get out of housework.

"Why do we need to clean out the spare room?" Jack whined over the phone to his wife how had left to go Christmas shopping early in the morning.

Silence.

He could imagine Sam giving him 'the look', the one that said 'because I said so', right through the phone.

"I'll get right on that honey," Jack said, changing his tune.

Three hours later, the only thing Jack had done was open the door to the spare room.

Ralph had distracted him with a ratty tennis ball and a pair of eyes that begged for him to go play, something that he rarely had time for during his every other weekend visits.

Of course, when Sam came home toting her purchases, her first stop was to check on his non-existent progress.

And to give him another one of those looks.

Jack cringed a little bit. "Remind me again why I'm doing this."

This time he got a full fledged view of 'the look' and Jack surrendered and started moving the boxes to the attic.

Several exhausting hours later, the room was empty and Jack found Sam surveying the room with a glint in her eyes that roughly translated into 'I've got this genius idea and now I'm going to tell you about it, even though you won't understand'.

And he proceeded to tune her out, just like he had every other time she had looked at him like that.

Sam finished speaking and looked at him for a reaction. She realized that his glazed over expression meant he had totally missed everything she had just said. "You didn't hear a word of what I just said, did you?"

"I heard it," Jack assured her, "I just didn't comprehend it."

Sam tried to look upset with him, but she couldn't.

She loved Jack, even when he was childish like this.

Probably because he was childish like this.

"Of course you didn't honey," she said stressing the honey as she patted his shoulder reassuringly, like he was a child.

"So what did you say?"

"Nothing important. Just wondered what color you would be painting the nursery," Sam said using her most neutral, carefree voice.

"Oh. OH!"

Sam could see the instant that her statement clicked.

Jack's eyes got real big, and his face became a picture of awe, surprise, and glee all mixed into one, and then he picked her up and spun her around.

They were going to be parents.

//End Flashback//

They had managed to keep the secret from everyone but Carolyn, who had happily confirmed the pregnancy the day before Thanksgiving, until Christmas dinner.

During which the sole topic of the meal had become all things baby.

Jack now had as many suggested colors to paint the room as what Sam had names to pick from.

Not really, but that was what it seemed like.

Although, some were out.

Sam had put her foot down on painting the room pink if it was a girl, and in return Jack had tried to do the same for blue if it was a boy. But Sam had asked him what color he would paint the room then and Jack had been at a loss for words. Sam had left him to contemplate paint colors with a triumphant smile on her face.

But now it was painting day, and Jack was no closer to picking a color then he had been the day, week, or even the month before.

And Sam was offering zero help because she had her own set of problems to deal with.

Not a single one of their friends were experts when it came to paint or colors, though Teal'c and Vala had each done some research on the psychological effects of colors in relation to the mood of humans and then proceeded to bombard Jack with the information.

On the other hand, Sam had no more then announced she was pregnant before every one of their friends had begun recommending names, complete with translations, origins, and personal significance. While Jack had a stack of paint chips to go through, Sam had a book of names, lists from friends, and competition to convince Sam that their suggestion was the best.

Jack suspected it had something to do with the non-existent pool regarding their choice of name for their child, whose gender remained a mystery at Sam's insistence.

So today was the day Jack had declared to be 'lock ourselves in the house and ignore the outside world' day, so that they could get some work done.

And so far, all Sam had heard from the soon-to-be nursery was some crashing and calls of "I'm okay!"

She decided that unless she heard a shout for help or silence, she was just going to have to ignore the noise, and hope for the best. What she didn't expect was for the call to come an hour later of "Done!"

Sam couldn't move fast enough as she briefly wondered what alien technology Jack had used to get the room done so fast. She stood aghast in doorway when Jack smiled proudly at her, inside of a room where all of the preparations for painting were done, but not a speck of paint was visible on the walls. Drop clothes covered the floor and several boxes of baby furniture while tape lined the trim, but Jack was obviously far from being done.

Jack caught her eye. "You didn't think I was done with the whole thing, did you Carter?"

Sam raised her eyebrow while Jack cringed. He had been lobbying for Carter in the name-the-baby game that everyone else was playing. Sam had told him if he could manage not to call her Carter for a whole week, she would consider it.

Today was only day two.

"I'm going to go for paint now," Jack stated, brushing past Sam with a kiss and a brief touch to her stomach which was only starting to show her pregnancy.

Sam smiled happily at him as she went back to her list. Not knowing the gender of the baby made this whole name thing hard.

She could pick a girl's name or a boy's name or one that would do for either. But there was so much to consider, as proven by the books that now littered her kitchen table.

Cameron and Carolyn had given her and Jack their first baby present- a book of names- 100,000 names to be exact, complete with meanings and origins.

Daniel had somehow gotten a hold of the book and added post-it notes for the ones he liked best.

Teal'c had given his own suggestions on a sheet of notebook paper and then provided comments on the suggested names from Daniel, and what they meant in Gou'ald.

Vala had (probably) been the most helpful. She had somehow put together an alphabetized list of names that just wouldn't do because SG-1 had some sort of negative experience with a person of that name in the past. She had then gone through her book and put large red X's over those names in the book. Of course, she had also added her own suggestions.

The worst and most confusing part was that everyone's suggestions seemed to be in conflict, well except for Vala who had helped eliminate names from the rather large book.

Even Jack was no help. He seemed to have a name for the hour for the baby, and they only seemed to grow worse each day. It had started with perfectly good names like Abigail but had recently digressed to the names of characters from the Simpsons.

Sam wasn't even going to go there.

By the time Jack got back with several boxes and lunch, Sam had managed to transfer the possible names from the book to her laptop thru the letter D, which considering she was only discarding the most obviously horrible names, was pretty good.

She had three lists going.

One for a girl, one for a boy, and one that could be for both.

Currently, she was leaning towards something that could do for both or if it was a girl, and could be shortened to something unfeminine if she so desired.

And knowing her husband, he was probably going to shorten it anyways, which meant Sam would be able to factor that into her decision during the next phase of operation name-the-baby.

By the time supper rolled around, Sam was contemplating letting their child pick his or her own name to avoid the barrage of e-mails she had received asking her if she had picked yet.

She decided it was probably safe to approach the nursery to see just how far Jack had managed to come in the last few hours, judging by the fact there was noise coming from the room, but no crashing or exclamations of pain.

What she found was Jack surrounded by several partially assembled pieces of baby furniture.

Pausing in the doorway, she asked sincerely, "Would you like some help?"

"I'm a man Carter; I should be able to figure this out."

"I have a Ph.D.," Sam offered as she moved to pull the electric screwdriver from his hand.

"In astrophysics, not construction" Jack finished for her, refusing to relinquish his hold on the screwdriver.

"But at least I can follow directions," Sam pointed out, tugging just a little bit harder.

Jack let go and threw his hands in the air, admitting surrender. "Fine, I'll go make dinner while you… do whatever it is that you're going to do."

By the time Jack called for dinner, the crib was standing on its own and the changing table was almost finished.

All in all, Sam considered it to be a successful day in the O'Neill household.

Now only if she could pick a name.

And Jack could decide what color to paint the nursery.

ooooo

It took quite a few more days for Sam to finish up her initial list.

Then she wrote a computer program to cross-reference an online database that had all the name information and her file of possible names and she began her simulations, removing names based on certain factors.

Of course, she asked Jack if he had any possible do-not-name-my-child-that.

His only response?

"Jonathan, Jack, or any shortening or lengthening of that name."

Which meant Nate, John, Jon, and Johnny and any variation therein were all out, even before Sam had really considered them.

Though at least Sam was confident in the knowledge that Jack was having just as much trouble painting the baby's room, the room that he had effectively kicked her out of the second she had finished putting together all the furniture. Judging by the occasional loud noise she heard coming from the room on the weekends, all of which Jack was now spending in Colorado, he was making progress.

Ralph and Lisa were keeping her company though as she sifted through page after page of data, attempting to find a reason for why some names were just not appealing to her so that she could remove a larger segment of data from her current list of possibilities.

So far, the idea of letting the kid name itself was sounding better and better everyday.

She didn't know how many more suggestions she could take from everyone around her.

"I'm done! Actually done this time Carter! Come ooh and awe!" Jack called from the baby's room, sounding quite pleased with himself.

He had thankfully given up on his attempts to convince Sam to name the baby Carter months ago, realizing that his efforts could probably be better focused elsewhere.

Sam couldn't move fast enough, now obviously showing her pregnancy as she was in her sixth month, and forced to move at a slower pace because of it.

Sam was met in the hallway by Ralph, who looked to be in need of a bath just as much as Jack, given the amount of paint they each had on them.

"I just want you to know that I put a lot of effort into this room," Jack claimed from a spot in the hallway where Sam wasn't able to see anything at all of the room. "And that if you don't like it, you can take it up with the President since it was his idea."

"You asked the President for decorating tips?" Sam asked in disbelief.

Jack shrugged. "It was either that or politics. I also talked him into letting me take a lengthy leave of absence."

Sam's eyes narrowed. They hadn't discussed this. "How long?"

Jack almost cringed at Sam's stare. System Lords didn't bother him, but his wife could send him running for cover. "Until Bobo is at least a teenager," he admitted.

"No way!"

"I'm not going to miss out on watching Ruth Ann grow up," Jack stated resolutely, refusing to back down.

"No, I meant about Bobo," Sam quickly corrected him with a smile. "I wish you had discussed it with me before you did anything, but I can understand. I'm actually kind of glad that you did it," she admitted.

"Good." Jack treated her to a smile.

"How soon before you're home for good?"

"Next weekend," Jack admitted, wondering how Sam would feel about giving up her during the week freedom on such little notice.

"It's going to be a long week," Sam claimed, stepping forward so that Jack could hold her.

She hated the way being pregnant sent her emotions haywire, but she used them to her advantage as much as she could around Jack, forcing him to physically hug and hold her as much as possible.

"Do you still want to see the room?" Jack asked after a period of silence during which he just held her as close to his body as the bump Sam harbored would allow.

Sam's head popped up. "Of course."

Jack directed her to close her eyes and then led her into the room. "Okay, you can open them now."

Sam opened her eyes and gasped at what Jack had done with the room.

Gone were the plain white walls and ceiling and in their place was a masterpiece of color.

The walls were now a shade of orange that reminded Sam of sunrise.

The trim all been painted white while the curtains were a dark color with stars on them.

What truly brought the room together though was the ceiling, which was a dark blue with a map of the constellations already visible.

"It's perfect," she whispered as she ran a hand over the baby bedding, conveniently decorated with starships, complete with a mobile of their solar system. "I love it," she assured Jack before he pulled her into his arms as the waterworks started.

ooooo

It had been worth it, Sam decided as she looked through her last list of names. She had finally managed to narrow down the 100,000 names from the original book to just 50.

Now she only had to pick six. Two for a girl, two for a boy, and two for both. Something told her that she would just know which one it was supposed to be when she finally saw her child for the first time.

Jack had gotten a hold of her list of the last 100 and had declared them all to be good fits, and had then proceeded to distribute various copies of what he called 'misinformation' to different personnel in the SGC.

Even Sam had to admit it had been kind of funny to watch various people run around thinking they had 'the list' of final name candidates, which she supposed had been Jack's intent in the first place.

What she didn't expect was to go into labor, right then and there as she tried to desperately figure out what to name the baby. She tired talking Jack into waiting to go to the hospital, but he would have none of it.

"Carter, we are going to the hospital right now. And yes, that is an order," he said. Sam was pretty sure that if there had been a ship in orbit, he would have just had them beamed to the SGC right that instant.

She endured twenty-three agonizing hours of labor, during which she made Jack listen as she debated aloud the pros and cons of each name as she made pass after pass through the list until she was left with only six names.

Katherine Marie was the pure girl choice because she had always had a thing about the name Katherine and Jack could easily shorten it to Kate or Katie. Marie just seemed to fit.

Jacob Daniel for the pure boy because it just seemed right to name a boy after her father and Jack's best friend. They could always call him Jake or J.D.

Logan Daniel/Danielle, depending on the gender was the neutral choice. This was the hardest to justify, but something told Sam that using her father's middle name might be the right way to honor him. And Jack could always call the child 'Log'.

Sam was pretty sure she had never seen Jack smile the way he did as their son cried for the first time, or when Jack got to hold him for the first time. He didn't even seem concerned at the fact that the little boy didn't have a name.

It was actually Carolyn who questioned just what she needed to tell everyone who was waiting in the hallway.

"Tell them," Sam paused as she looked at the boy, weighing each name in head. "Tell them they need to come in and meet Logan Daniel O'Neill."

"All of them?" Carolyn questioned.

"Maybe just family," Jack suggested cautiously, knowing that Sam had no clue exactly how many people were out there waiting for the news.

Judging by the roar that went up a few minutes later, there were quite a few. Their family crept in but didn't stay long, each offering their congratulations and accepting the few minutes they were able to pilfer to hold little Logan. They disappeared just as quickly as they came because Carolyn appeared and kicked them out, claiming mother, father, and baby all needed to rest.

When the room was quiet once more, Jack made a suggestion.

"You know, I'd hate for all that hard work you did coming up with a name to go to waste, so maybe we should save the rest of the names for another baby," Jack suggested, a hopeful glint in his eye.

"Don't push your luck."


End file.
